Beathard's first five years in San Diego were great, his second five ruined everything he built in the first five.
AL DOGG, San Diego, Calif.

What about San Diego shipping out James Brooks for Pete Johnson? The Bengals made out like bandits.
John Abbott, Mountain View, Calif.

The Chargers by virtue of having an aging team during the 1983 season scored the 6th overall pick in the 1984 draft. Their most glaring need was CB. Who should be available but a tall athletic All-American cover corner from the University of Texas named Mossy Cade. He projected to be a 10-year starter with perennial All-Pro potential.

Well, he started by holding out in a contract dispute and then after both his agent and new Chargers owner Alex Spanos butted heads he was summarily shipped to Green Bay for a draft pick. He played late in the season for Green Bay and looked like a steal for the Packers. But the next year he got involved in some ugly legal problems and never played in the NFL again.

The second-round draft pick was a tall, rangy OLB from Northwestern named Mike Guendling -- 6-foot-4, 240 with 4.5 speed. He was seen as a steal and the Chargers brass anointed him as perhaps the second-best LB prospect in Chargers history. Well, during some training camp running drills (on grass, no less), he blew out his leg ... not his knee, his leg -- a large chunk of the large lower leg bone exploded -- along with the knee and ligaments. He never played a down for the Chargers.

The 1984 draft was a disaster. The next Charger selection after Cade and Guendling was not until the 5th round when they selected a 5-foot-6 FB by the name of Lionel James (he was Bo Jackson's lead blocker at Auburn). He was a very good player as an all-purpose do-everything back, but not enough to make up for the loss of two high draft picks. People wonder how the Chargers declined so much so fast. I've always pointed the finger at the '84 draft. Two players after the selection of James the SF 49ers drafted Michael Carter, a DT from SMU.
Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, New York, N.Y.

I have been a Chargers fan for the entire time they have been in San Diego. It has been mostly tears, but there have been a few good times (1963 and getting to Super Bowl XXIX). Probably the thing that stunted the Chargers growth early was in 1962 when Jack Kemp was put on waivers and claimed by Buffalo after breaking the middle finger on his throwing hand. Maybe I was too young to know what was going on but I thought then and still think that was one of the all-time bonehead moves in Chargers history.
Bill Stuart, Houston, Texas

Ryan Leaf is a prime example of a spoiled kid used to getting his own way, who, in my humble opinion, needed a good swift kick in the pants and took the money and got soft. So long, Ryan, and special thanks goes to Bobby Beathard and the scouts for trading up for this colossal BUST. Beathard and his staff set this franchise back at least seven years.
Bob Augustine, Somerset, Pa.

Not trading Gary Anderson for Mike Haynes is the least of the problem with 1983. The Chargers had three first-round picks, taking Anderson, Billy Ray Smith and Gill Byrd. Anderson had some flashes after finally joining the Bolts from the USFL, but he was eventually traded in a (what else?) contract dispute. Billy Ray Smith was a solid player, but unspectacular. Gill Byrd played in a couple Pro Bowls over a decade-long career. But all these picks could have been traded to the Colts and used to select a QB by the name of John Elway. The Chargers are still looking for QB to follow up Dan Fouts. I think Elway would have fit the bill!
Chris Alvarez, San Diego, Calif.

When the San Diego Chargers gave away players and draft picks to move up ONE SPOT to draft Ryan Leaf, even though a sports psychologist warned against it, they broke my heart. Having been a loyal fan since the Dan Fouts/Louie Kelcher days, it is hard to watch this team wallow in mediocrity while others prosper with either players discarded by the Chargers or those that should have been Chargers draft picks.

"Cryin'" Ryan could perhaps have been tutored and groomed to become a player, but the management of the team decided "We don't need no stinkin' experienced QB!" and then proceeded to get rid of every player who could catch a pass. Heck of a way to introduce a very young rookie to the NFL! The team's inability to compensate for the loss of Stan Humphries has been clearly illustrated.
Eric Duncan, Poway, Calif.

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